The Minnesota Wild got a sample of life without Mats Zuccarello in October. It left a bitter aftertaste.

But as they get into the heart of their December schedule, which has Minnesota at home for seven of its next eight games, they will have to find ways to work around the veteran forward’s absence once again.

At Thursday’s morning skate, before the Wild hosted Dallas, head coach John Hynes confirmed that Zuccarello is out for the foreseeable future with an upper body injury.

After taking a hard open-ice check from Seattle defenseman Vince Dunn in the opening period of the Wild’s 4-1 win over the Kraken, Zuccarello left the game and did not return.

With Zuccarello out of the lineup for all of October, Minnesota won three of its first dozen games. The Wild placed him on injured reserve

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